Marketing Planning

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A Simpler Way to Determine Your Niche

April 1, 2010 in Marketing Planning, Positioning | No comments

To attract clients that value your brilliance, you need a plan. Strategic planning has a reputation for being difficult, complicated and time consuming. Typically the process begins with a SWOT analysis looking at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. I offer a simplified version focusing on your strengths.I recently had an opportunity to see Chip Heath speak about his new book Switch. Chip, along with his brother Dan, also wrote the fantastic Made To Stick. In Switch, they introduce a concept called “Find the Bright Spots.” Bright spots, as applied to your marketing, are successful efforts that you’ve already been doing, and simply repeating them.

Create Your Top 10
First, make a list of the top 10 projects you’ve ever worked on. Yes, I know “top” is ambiguous and purposely so. To be meaningful, YOU need to define top. Top could mean revenue, creativity, great people, fun, social good, publicity or some combination thereof. Whatever your definition of top is, it must embody the type of projects that you’d love to work on next. Marketing is all about the work that you seek.

Discover What’s Working
Next, create a grid with your top 10 projects listed down the left side. Across the top, list the following questions to ask about each project:

  1. How did this client learn about your firm?
  2. Why were you hired? What other reasons did they hire you?
  3. Type of project by service?
  4. Type of client by vertical market (biotech or tourism for example)?
  5. What time of year were you hired?
  6. Any professional affiliations of the key decision makers?
  7. Gender and age of the key decision makers?

You should be asking these important questions each time you get hired (and not hired). There is no expiration date on asking. Don’t assume why you get hired and then go out and repeat the wrong the things.

Let The Patterns Define Your Strategy
As you can imagine, you are looking for patterns to emerge in the grid you’ve created above. If you notice a large percentage of projects in a certain vertical market, this defines your niche. A certain service that shows up frequently can further define your specialty. If you see a pattern of why you get hired, then this becomes the positioning for your next ad campaign, tagline and website messaging. The goal is to market “with the current” of what you are already doing well.

I know there are bright spots in your marketing or you wouldn’t be in business. Don’t focus on the problems. Yes, there is something innately satisfying about figuring out what’s broken and then fixing it. But if you focus on what is working, the “bright spots,” this path of least resistance will bring you success with greater ease.
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3 Steps to a Better Marketing Plan

October 27, 2009 in Marketing Planning | No comments

By now, you should have started creating your Marketing Plan/Budget. Here are some tips to guide you, because as you’ve probably heard, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” I know it’s tempting to simply copy and paste last year’s plan but this is a bit like driving while only looking in the rear-view mirror. Market opportunities, alliances, relationships are constantly changing so your Marketing Plan needs to evolve as well.

1. What to Include
A good Marketing Plan is a one year roadmap of how you will achieve your firm’s Strategic Plan. Here is what to include in your Marketing Plan: Budget (see below), Staffing (who will do what and by when), Timeline (prioritized sequencing of implementation), Promotional Mix (advertising, web site, social media, brochure, video PR, events, etc.). If you need help in this area, I can recommend a great coach. To help you get started, click here for a free .pdf map that I’ve created to help you through the process.

2. Ask for the Money
Don’t be afraid to set aside a healthy budget that will allow you to effectively market your firm. There are three methods I know of to create your budget. Projection is taking last year’s budget, and based on projected growth or decline, adjust this year’s budget. Percentage is taking a straight 10–15% of gross revenues. I recommend Goal-Based; which is taking each goal from your Strategic Plan and breaking down what it will cost to achieve that goal. You can then check this against Projection and Percentage to make sure your budget request is realistic. Is it likely that your plan might change throughout the year? Absolutely. But if you don’t set aside the money now, it will surely be designated to something else later when you really need it.

3. Implementing the Plan
Having a plan is a great first step, but implementation is what will attract great clients. First, form a core Marketing Team (not too big, but with enough Principal muscle to be influential). Marketing Plans will fail unless the talent responsible for implementation is involved in the creation of the plan. Share the Marketing Plan with everyone in your firm because marketing the firm is everyone’s business. Finally, review and measure on a regular basis (at least monthly). Be sure to share success stories internally. This demonstrates the value of marketing and builds momentum and morale.

Just doing what you’ve always done will get you what you’ve always got. So invest in your Marketing Plan to be a beacon for your best year yet. This will help to prioritize proactive and reactive opportunities and make the most of your time and money.

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Marketing Planning 101

December 4, 2008 in Marketing Planning | No comments

I’m in the process of finalizing the LecoursDesign Marketing Plan for 2009 so I’d like to share my thoughts on the subject.

1. Why Have a Marketing Plan?
A Marketing Plan helps your firm shape its destiny by proactively defining what you want. Marketing plans are necessary for the same reason builders have plans: to know why, how, what, where, and when to build. This document is a declaration to the outside world and to internal staff. There is something powerful about sharing a written plan that makes it real and makes you accountable. In short, failing to plan is planning to fail.

2. Start with a Strategic Plan
Your Marketing Plan is a 1 year segment of your strategic plan which should include:
Mission – Why are you taking this journey?
Vision – Where are you headed?
Target Markets & Clients – Who will join you?
Positioning – Compelling reason for clients to join you
Goals – Specific, Measurable, Time-based Milestones

3. What to Include in Your Marketing Plan
Budget – Healthy firms typically invest 10- 15% of total operating revenues in marketing.
Staffing – Who will do what and by when. I’ve found that marketing plans often fail when the people tasked with implementing the plan are not involved in creating the plan.
Timeline – Prioritized sequencing of implementation because you can’t do it all at once.
Marketing Mix – Allocation of marketing budget to these possible marketing tools: branding, brochure, project sheets, direct mail, advertising, event sponsorship, PR, public speaking, expert writing, holiday promo, web site, professional organization networking, community involvement, trade shows, newsletters, e-mail blasts, video. I know a great consultant that can help with this!

It’s best to start creating your marketing plan about three months before implementation begins. To help you get started, click here for a FREE .pdf map that we’ve created to guide you through the process.

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